Honestly, no matter what study guide they have, it is going to be hard to prepare for the DLAB. All of the languages use din teh DLAB are ficitious. They are concoctions of the english language with extra syllabels added to them. The test is built to determine your ability to learn a foreign language, and from your score, the Army can tell what Category of language you are best suited for.

The easiest way to study for the DLAB, if you are dead-set on it, is to study English Grammer rules and memorization, because in the test, you are requird to remember the "X" number of rules they have in their fictitious language and you are tested section -by-section using the rules. Learn to retain things in memory really well and be able to memorize thigns quickly and it will take some of the load off of you, however, be prepared to use your brain.

I cam out of the exam with a headache, and I already speak two languages. You can take a language in high school and do ok with it, but you are learning that language at only the basic skills level over the course of your entire school year. You would have to take subsequent years to learn to be conversational. DLI and other schools are accelerated schools, and you are required to be able to advance rapidly and retain greater amounts of information. This is what the DLAB is for, to ensure you can sustain the level of teaching at DLI.

Don't sweat the small stuff. Study up on your grammer rules and just go in and take it. I promise you, searching for study materials will only discourage you and you will go in with a bad head. Go in clean and take the test. That is the way it is designed to be addressed.

Originally posted by Auto-Rotate:Honestly, no matter what study guide they have, it is going to be hard to prepare for the DLAB. All of the languages use din teh DLAB are ficitious. They are concoctions of the english language with extra syllabels added to them. The test is built to determine your ability to learn a foreign language, and from your score, the Army can tell what Category of language you are best suited for.

The easiest way to study for the DLAB, if you are dead-set on it, is to study English Grammer rules and memorization, because in the test, you are requird to remember the "X" number of rules they have in their fictitious language and you are tested section -by-section using the rules. Learn to retain things in memory really well and be able to memorize thigns quickly and it will take some of the load off of you, however, be prepared to use your brain.

I cam out of the exam with a headache, and I already speak two languages. You can take a language in high school and do ok with it, but you are learning that language at only the basic skills level over the course of your entire school year. You would have to take subsequent years to learn to be conversational. DLI and other schools are accelerated schools, and you are required to be able to advance rapidly and retain greater amounts of information. This is what the DLAB is for, to ensure you can sustain the level of teaching at DLI.

Don't sweat the small stuff. Study up on your grammer rules and just go in and take it. I promise you, searching for study materials will only discourage you and you will go in with a bad head. Go in clean and take the test. That is the way it is designed to be addressed.

maybe its just me but it doesnt look like you actually followed the link and looked at the item.

Here is the description;

The Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) is a standardized government test administered to armed service personnel to determine one’s natural ability to learn a foreign language.

The test is comprised of gibberish and specific grammatical rules that apply to each section of the test. A perfect score is nearly impossible due to the nature of the test, a mere passing score is challenging, and a failing score guarantees only one more chance to take the test!

By studying the rules provided in this guide, understanding the logic, using the tips provided, and working through the exercises, you can expect to increase your score by at least 20 points.

I looked at it did the practice questions that they used as examples and instantly felt better. I went ahead and bought it, if for nothing more than the peace of mind that it has already given me. Nothing has been worse than stressing over an unknown test that you cannot prepare for to decide if you will be able to get your dream job or not.

I took it dry (no prep) and got a 136 (which means I passed). It's not that hard, just make sure you WRITE DOWN THE RULES AS THEY ARE GIVEN TO YOU. Then cross-reference the rules you have written down as often as possible (each question, if it won't slow you down too much).

And no matter how much you know, or how well prepared you are, you'll never really feel completely confident about ANY of your answers. I've taken a few tests in my time, but that one was quite the mind-f***, if you get my drift. I've never been so unsure about a test as I was with that one.

And then my results were delayed by a couple of hours. Apparently, three different staff personnel at the Ft. Meade ed center had to go back over the test, then watch the video, to make sure I hadn't cheated, since it was the highest score they'd ever seen at the Ft. Meade Ed Center.

I did meet a guy who scored a 149, but the points are logarithmic. So, he probably got 1 or 2 more right than I did.

I know this thread is a little old, but I thought I would post my two cents for anyone who is taking the test in the future.

I prepped basically the night before for about an hour. I reviewed basic English grammar rules (Subject-Verb-Object sentence structure, etc.) and read up on what the different sections of the test were going to be just so I wouldn't be surprised the next day. Not really too much of an effort. I scored a 114. Not the best in the world, but it could have been worse. When I was done taking the test I had no clue if I got every question right or every one of them wrong. It is a pretty intense test.

I noticed a few things from the above posts that somewhat concern me. First of all, the DLAB study guide being promoted for studying for the actual test is probably not a bad idea. HOWEVER, it concerns me that they have actual questions from the test and the rules for each test section. The reason for this was because when I took the test back in March, I explicitly remember that the test instructions indicated that an individual was not to discuss anything about what the rules or questions were in the sections that followed. If people know exactly what some of the questions were, the Army's ability to gauge a person's ability to learn a new language will be significantly reduced.

Finally, SSG Prophet's remark about writing the rules down as they are given to you is wonderful, but the test instructions and the counselor who was in the room at the time forbid an individual to take notes. The test did provide the rules in a link I could click next to the question, but keep in mind that the test is timed. Time management skills were imperative, and on some of the questions that I could not grasp very well I would simply select my best guesstimate and move on.

In hindsight, the fact is that the test is very difficult, but so will be learning a new language. The key is to relax, have an open mind to what you are presented with, and don't stress out during the thing.

SSG Prophet, I must say that your score is very impressive and I am curious in my future language studies to compare my ability to learn what I will be taught with those students who scored both higher and lower than me.

After several days of looking up various forms of study for linguist testing, I have found one simple and easy way to "PREPARE" for a language test. this way will not teach you, nor show you how the language itself is presented. So in no way helps you on the comprehension of a language, but rather helps to single out and clarify all grammar rules. This will make it easy to dissect a language. as stated before it has the rules of grammar, these are KEY to any language, if you do not know these you cannot write or speak correctly. So it is imperative that a person taking this test needs to know the basics, you have a greater advantage knowing what adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions and prepositions are than someone who isn't quite sure. Secondly, after this you'll need practice there is a website that has many different languages on it, and it challenges you to decipher it's quizzes in a base of up to 5 to 10 questions per quiz. There maybe more than one website but I so far have found one.

In turn this will prepare you on what to look for and prepare for as far as what questions will be asked. Studying this way will show you how to properly dissect the language, and how to as stated before cross-reference materials. but in no way help you on the understanding of the test itself

I am retired Airborne cryptologic linguist. I agree there is nothing you can study for this test. The first time I took the test, I only scored a 60. I took the test at the meps after my physical. I was the only person taking the test in the room and a test proctor. I did not know what to expect and the test seemed very difficult for me. When I got back home, I knew I really wanted this job now. The AF recruiter now really knew I wanted this job also after I told him. The recruiter did not try to make me select another job, he just said you can take the test again in 6 months. While I waited again to take the test, I thought, how did I feel when I took the test?.Nervous!! due to not knowing what to expect. Best thing you can do is just be calm when you take the test. Next time I took the test, I was calm and knew what to expect. The test was still very difficult, but when I am calm, I see thing more clearly. My score went from a 60 to 112. I started to see more and understand more just from being calm. No studying, no secret book, no study guide over the 6 months I waited to take the test again. I see there is a study guide published by some company. IMHO I do not think it will help you. When you take the DLAB test, you are going to get it or not. A lot of people say study some English books. Had I studied or brushed up on English grammar, it just would have been a waist of time for me.I was in high school 12th grade still taking English. I think the best thing you can do to pass the DLAB test is, just relax, do not stress and stay calm. I remember people bragging about how high they scored on the DLAB test at DLI. It does not matter how high you scored on the DLAB, only that you pass it. People with high DLAB scores a lot of them did not make it through the language and a lot of people with lower scores washed out also. My score was not that high. I made it through. DLI is a tough school. The language was difficult to learn until I got in the groove. Then the next 6 months were boring. My brother was a math major and he told me how to study. It was really simple. He said you have to learn the lessons they are teaching that day before you get class. That way when you get to class and there was something you did not understand, when they taught it, you got it and you are ahead. Simple enough. Each week they gave you a syllabus of what they were teaching the next week everyday. The only day I would study was Sunday afternoon. 12pm to 6 pm. Studied all the lessons for the week. Did all the homework for the week. So when I went to class, all I had to do was to listen to what they were teaching and it just reinforced what I had learned on my own. And before I went to bed I would take a quick look at the next days lesson roughly 10 min. Making it through DLI no matter what score you got on the DLAB just required me to learn how to study and just stay ahead. When things were difficult in the beginning, I was learning the lesson when they taught it that day and doing the homework that evening. Again just stay ahead. Some of the students did not study much, it just came to them naturally. I was not one of them. At the time I went to crypto school, they said if the language was hard for you to learn, the crypto will be easier and vice versa. Crypto school was very easy. I only studied about 30 mins the day before the test. A lot of people said they never see me in the SCIF studying. Crypto school to me was just memorizing a lot of information which was easy and getting my ears tuned. Getting my ears to really hear what was going on took 8 weeks. On the tests "data" never made less than a 90. On the listening first few test 75 to 85% then the 9th week my ears where in tune and started getting 95% on the listening test. At the end of the class, 1 other guy and me where getting higher scores then the native speaker in our class. Our final listening test. The instructor played the clip. I got 80% of it and another guy got 90% of it. The other 5 students got nothing. The instructor got upset. He then played the clip again, same thing. The instructor said technically 5 of you just failed the class and me and the guy with the 90% we passed. The instructor said he could not play the clip again. He left the room and we just sat there for about an hour. He came back and said guys who got nothing this is your lucky day, the commander has given me permission to play the clip 2 more times and those of you who, do not get it, you have to wait for the next class to start and start over. I did not take the test again. There was no need. I had passed the 1st time. Finally the 5 guys got some of the cut. Their scores were 72 to 75%.

I know this thread is old but it should give you some helpful tips for the future Crypto linguist

DLI is a tough school. The language was difficult to learn until I got in the groove. Then the next 6 months were boring. My brother was a math major and he told me how to study. It was really simple. He said you have to learn the lessons they are teaching that day before you get class. That way when you get to class and there was something you did not understand, when they taught it, you got it and you are ahead. Simple enough. Each week they gave you a syllabus of what they were teaching the next week everyday. The only day I would study was Sunday afternoon. 12pm to 6 pm. Studied all the lessons for the week. Did all the homework for the week. So when I went to class, all I had to do was to listen to what they were teaching and it just reinforced what I had learned on my own. And before I went to bed I would take a quick look at the next days lesson roughly 10 min. Making it through DLI no matter what score you got on the DLAB just required me to learn how to study and just stay ahead. When things were difficult in the beginning, I was learning the lesson when they taught it that day and doing the homework that evening. Again just stay ahead. Some of the students did not study much, it just came to them naturally. I was not one of them. At the time I went to crypto school, they said if the language was hard for you to learn, the crypto will be easier and vice versa.

if you happen to see this, when do you think you fell into that groove in DLI?